Wearing a personal audio reproduction headset for listening to audio content may result in a pleasurable experience for the wearer. The audio reproduction headset may be integrated in a virtual-reality or augmented-reality head-mounted display system and may produce an immersive experience. Head-mounted display systems with an integrated audio reproduction device may enable users to travel through space and time, interact with friends in a three-dimensional world, or play video games in a radically redefined way. Head-mounted display systems with an integrated audio reproduction device may also be used for purposes other than recreation, governments may use them for military training simulations, doctors may use them to practice surgery, and engineers may use them as visualization and audio aids.
In any use of a virtual-reality or augmented-reality system with integrated audio reproduction, making the experience as functional and comfortable as possible for the wearer and others near the wearer may be critical. However, many design features of head-mounted display systems with integrated audio reproduction may potentially interfere with a comfortable experience for the wearer and others near the wearer. For example, the audio reproduction device may produce a comfortable audio reproduction experience for the wearer, but the reproduced audio may travel away from the wearer and provide discomfort to others near the wearer. Further, the reproduced audio traveling to unintended listeners near the wearer may pose a privacy threat to the wearer, making the experience less compelling.